Quadriplegic farmer ends wheelchair desert trek

Luke Bevan and a rugged-up Rob Cook, who says the weather has been "miserable"

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A Central Australian grazier left paralysed after a helicopter crash has become the first person to cross the remote Tanami Desert in a wheelchair.

Rob Cook became a C4 quadriplegic in 2008, when his helicopter suffered an engine failure and dropped from the sky near his isolated family property in the Northern Territory.

The former rodeo champion crossed the finish line in Alice Springs today after travelling 730 kilometres over 24 gruelling days.

Mr Cook, who trekked strapped to a customised wheelchair, says Mother Nature has "hammered" him over the past three weeks.

"The weather has been certainly the hardest hurdle we've passed. As it turned out, we picked the most miserable time of the year to do it," he said.

"We started out and the weather was quite warm and we put up with the dust and the flies. Then we got a strong southerly breeze that tried to blow us off the road.

"Then we had two days in the rain... and then it just came in windy and cold. I've been putting blankets on my wheelchair to keep the ice off it. Two days ago... all the tips of my toes had frostbite on them."

Mr Cook has also experienced the wildlife of the remote desert, including one encounter with a menacing wild bull.

"We were hunted by crows and dingoes and one night we were travelling and my wheelchair was going flat and we ended up getting stuck on the side of the road," he said.

"The bull was a little bit more than inquisitive, put it that way, he wanted to have a bit more than a look. But we managed to talk our way out of a bad situation and we got away unscathed."

The trip had many unexpected highlights for Mr Cook, who was joined on the trek by his childhood friend Luke Bevan.

"People often talk about the bright lights of the city. But we can tell you here and now, there is no competing with the bright lights of the Tanami," he said.

"Whether it be the shine of the coals and flames of our nightly fire, the sun rising and setting or the stars in the sky, there isn't a star in the Southern Hemisphere that we haven't enjoyed on this trip."

The main aim of Mr Cook's epic desert trek was initially to raise money for his Nuffield Scholarship, which gives farmers the chance to travel abroad and share their experiences.

But he says the trek quickly became about inspiring other injured Australian farmers to remain productive members of their agricultural communities.

"I hoped that me being stuck out in the middle of the desert would help those Australians with a disability who work on farms to not just sit around and think your life is over if you have had an accident," he said.

"Since we've been back in mobile service people have been ringing in and saying my story has reminded them to get off their backside and get back to work."

Mr Cook says he has been inspired by the people he met on the trek.

"It's been so amazing how supportive the tourists and truckies have been out here," he said.

"I just want to thank everyone for making the effort of pulling over, especially the truck drivers - on this rough and corrugated road the stopping and starting is the hardest, it can shake your vehicle apart."

He says he could not imagine doing the trek without Mr Bevan.

"It's one thing for a quadriplegic to sit in a wheelchair and go over every bump, but it's a completely different story to walk every step," he said.